Q&A with Elli Puukangas
Meet Elli Puukangas, the talented illustrator behind the Star Stable comics!
Q: Do you love horses?
A: Yes!!! I have a loan pony called Gracie. She’s a 6-year-old rescue pony. We mostly do work from the ground with her and hack out. Though I’ve not been able to see her during the lockout, I miss her a lot.
Q: What is a comic illustrator? What do you do?
A: I draw comics! Other people’s stories as well as my own. The biggest bulk of my work is actual comic pages, but it also includes doing concept art of characters and places.
Q: What made you sure you wanted to turn this into your career?
A: I worked in IT support 4 years ago and drew commissions and comics for people in my free time. I decided to take the leap and leave my old job to do art full time. It was hard and it’s still challenging but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Q: How did you end up drawing? For how long?
A: I’ve drawn since I could hold a pen in my hand! Bringing characters and places to life is something I’ve always loved doing. I’ve never been to an art school, I’ve learned by reading and drawing a lot.
Q: Do you have any goals with your career?
A: Draw more comics and print more books! I do 3D modeling as a hobby and I’d love to get better at it.
Q: Do you have any artistic inspiration?
A: Lots! Paul Kidby, David Etien, and Jordi Lafebre being the most recent ones. When I was a kid, I loved the stuff from the Himekawa team (they drew the Zelda manga) and Lena Furberg, who was a huge inspiration for me. My favorite authors are Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
Q: Do you draw digitally only?
A: I mostly draw digitally. My chosen programs are Photoshop and Clip Studio Pro!
Q: What is your proudest art accomplishment?
A: Honestly? All the Star Stable stuff. I’ve had a blast working with the team on the art!
Q: What is something you would say to a young artist?
Your stories matter, your characters and art matter. Don’t be afraid to share them. They may not be to everyone’s taste, but that’s ok! You cannot please everyone. Keep doing your thing and enjoy the process. Your audience is out there!
Elli Puukangas
Q: How can we all better support artists online?
A: Share, re-blog, retweet, credit the artist. Always share the original source, don’t repost without permission. Artists love to hear from people who enjoy their content, let them know!
Q: Will we see more of your art here in the future?
A: Yes!
Could this be a sneak peek?
To see more of Elli’s work, visit Elli’s website!